Our European Patent Application Nos. O 391 219 and 0 390 095 disclose a suction drainage control system that reduces an operator's exposure to infectious waste by permitting waste-treating material to be dispersed into a sealed chamber in which the infectious waste is contained. The sealed chamber includes a cover with a flexible liner sealed to and suspended therefrom. A freely movable reservoir is provided inside the chamber for storing the waste-treating material, which reservoir is opened by manipulating the flexible liner to open the reservoir.
Our European Patent Application No. O 390 094 discloses a system in which a normally closed reservoir is provided on an underside of the cover of the chamber for storing the waste-treating material therewithin as long as the reservoir remains closed. An externally operated actuator is provided on the cover for opening the reservoir to release the waste-treating material into the sealed chamber having a flexible liner.
Our European Patent Application No. O 394 687 discloses a suction drainage system having absorbent and/or germicide to treat waste and/or locking connections and/or valves to minimize the possibility of escaping waste. A transfer system is also provided to facilitate the use of multiple containers in a single system.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,156,823 discloses a device for use in treating waste body fluids comprising a waste container for storing body fluids and body fluid solutions, an aspiration port at an upper portion of the waste container for aspirating the body fluids and body fluid solutions, a discharge port at an upper portion of the waste container, means for holding a chemical agent in an inner upper portion of the waste container, and a chemical agent comprising a coagulant for coagulating body fluids and body fluid solutions in the waste container.
In the prior art apparatus the container containing the gelling agent is permanently attached to the suction drainage system, which provides a limitation on its freedom of use. Furthermore, in systems where the gelling agent is introduced to the suction drainage system through the inlet port, as is the case in the apparatus of FIG. 1 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,156,823, difficulties are encountered in passing the gelling agent, which is usually in powder or granular form, through the port, which is relatively narrow. This is particularly so because the particles of the gelling agent tend to expand when they come into contact with moisture, which is usually present on the inside walls of the inlet port. The swollen particles then block the port preventing or restricting the entry of the remainder of the gelling agent.